Vera's Story
by Vera3
Summary: The story of a young pokemon trainer. Safari Zone up (finally =p). It crosses over with Cael's Story. I'm hopeless at summaries, so just R&R ^_^; (Rating is precautionary. It may rise dramatically when they reach Saffron)
1. Early Years

My name's Vera, and I'm a gym leader. I defend the gym in Ruby Town, pretty well, I must say. Let me tell you about myself...  
  
I was born in Mahogany town, my father, Arnold, is a warden at the lake of rage, and my mother, Joy, works in the pokémon centre there. When I was about one year old, Dad found an Abra in some tall grass. Even though he's not a trainer, he'd been given ultra balls to catch any pokémon that may appear - you know, for protection, like. He caught it, and brought it home. Mum laughed when he showed it to her, she said it looked a lot like me. I was asleep in my crib, and the pokémon was sleeping too. So that's where Abra went, into my crib. It would have been funny, to see a little baby hugging an equally small pokémon like it was a doll, but Abra seemed to like it.  
  
When I was about two, I could say most words, and walk pretty well. I guess I was one of them precarious children you read about. Abra and I soon became inseparable. We used to sit on mum's counter and watch the Blisseys work. Sometimes Abra would teleport himself around, into the medicine cupboard and stuff. It was funny. Mum didn't seem to like it, I don't think. I guess that's why she was so glad to see me and Abra go off to the day-care.  
  
The day-care centre was fun, too. We used to get into lots of trouble, sneaking into the biscuit tin and such. I wished I could teleport, would have been fun to appear anywhere you liked. Everything went on like this for a while, until my fifth birthday. That was when Mum and Dad got me probably the best present ever - a Charmander. It was so cute, I grinned at the sight of it. I think I got a picture book or two as well, but I liked the pokémon more. So it was Charmander, Abra, and I. I must admit Abra was still my favourite, because Charmander had a habit of burning us whenever we did anything it didn't like. But we were a nice threesome. The best was our first day at proper school. I was in an annoying uniform, with Abra beside me. Charmander was in a pokéball - my newest possession. The teacher was pretty shocked to see a young girl like me with a pokéball on a chord around her neck, and an Abra standing beside her. But for some reason, Abra was allowed to stay. Year 1 passed, I learnt to read and write that year. I was pretty popular, because none of the others had anything more than a pet Rattata or Pidgey.  
  
So school continued as normal until I was eight, in year three. By then I was turning into a geek, so no one seemed to like me. The worse were these year fives, these really big guys. One had a Nidorino, the other, a Raticate, and the last one had a Drowzee. They were teasing Abra and me, saying how we were useless. They were especially mean to Abra, and the Drowzee's trainer, Damien, was the worst of them all. He thought he was so great because he had a psychic pokémon that didn't just teleport. I became used to the teasing; Damien would get Drowzee to pound Abra or me, depending on what kind of mood he was in, and Abra would teleport me to safety. One day, Damien, Nathan (the Nidorino's trainer) and Ralph, who owned the Raticate, cornered Abra and me. Abra was awake for once in his life, and he didn't like what he saw. Ralph told his pokémon to bite us, Nidorino was told to poison sting, and Drowzee was given orders to put us to sleep. Suddenly, Abra turned bright white, the silhouette growing larger, before a moustache grew on his face, and a spoon appeared in his hand. He turned back into normal colours again, a star on his forehead. "Kadabra!" He said, and launched a kinesis attack, the boys and their pokémon floated in the air, immobile. I grinned, and hugged him. "You're the greatest!" I praised, and he shook his head "Kadabra! Dabra!" He had that humble character, all in the line of duty sense. It was then I decided to give him a nickname, Humility.  
  
A year passed, and no bullies ever dared mess with me from that day. I was still friendless, with only Humility and Charmander. Charmander was becoming tamer, though. He didn't burn me as often. His tameness became more pronounced when I let him out of his pokéball more often. 


	2. The Kidnapping

One day, at school, we had a mathematics competition, with a gift voucher at the local pokémart as the grand prize. I won, as I had natural skill in maths. So at the end of the day, I decided to go to the mart and see what I could buy. Humility was resting in his pokéball, so Charmander was walking with me, for company. I must admit I got lost; it's pretty easy to in such a big place! We went down a dark alley, where there was a shadowy figure. I knew we'd gone the wrong way, but the man grabbed me from behind. Charmander must have been scared, because he returned himself.  
  
So there I was, caught in strong arms, with a hand over my mouth. I tried to bite it, but I couldn't. I wasn't too strong then. I don't know what the guy was planning to do to me, I guess he wanted to ransom me or something, because next thing I knew, I was in a building, tied up.  
  
The guy mustn't have seen my pokéballs, or he didn't expect a nine year old to have any. Either way, Charmander managed to release himself. I was incredibly glad to see him, I mean, I was tied up! Charmander set a flame on the ropes that surrounded me, I tried not to make a noise, but it was hard. I yelped in pain when I felt the flaming rope on my bare arm, and my captor turned around, suddenly. "Stupid kid! I'll fix your Charmander!!" he said, and grabbed a pokéball from his waist. An Eevee appeared. It looked pretty scared. "Eevee! Sand attack!" A spray of sand covered us, getting into Charmander's eyes (and mine). The poor thing. My mouth was full of sand, making it impossible for me to give Charmander orders. But the fire pokémon seemed to be okay on its own, it started scratching Eevee furiously. Soon the smaller pokémon was fainted. My kidnapper didn't like this at all. He sent out another pokémon, this one was an Electrode. Charmander seemed to be in a rage, furiously slashing the round pokémon. Too bad that didn't hurt it. The white and red pokémon exploded in a flash of white light, sending Charmander flying into the wall. This didn't defeat him, though. He roared in anguish, and suddenly, burst into flames, before appearing again, this time darker red, with a horn on its head, and much sharper looking claws. The new pokémon started slashing away at the man, but he didn't stay. My kidnapper released a Pidgeot, and he flew off. The house I was in was smouldering to the ground, and I saw the poor Eevee, left behind. I felt sorry for it, being raised by a mean trainer like that. The Eevee was definitely hurt badly, so I captured it, in Charmander, no, Charmeleon's pokéball. Then we ran to the street, and it was easy to find the pokémon centre. Mum wasn't there, and I don't think anyone recognised me when I gave the nurse there my Eevee's pokéball. I ran home once I was sure the pokémon would be all right, to see a lot of police cars outside my house. When I arrived in, with Charmeleon, officer Jenny, between hugs from my mother and father, bombarded me with questions. I couldn't really describe the guy who kidnapped me, I didn't get a good enough look at him, what with his back being to me most of the time, and sand filling the air when his Eevee used sand attack.  
  
Poor Jenny, she didn't have much to go on, just that he had an Electrode and Pidgeot with him. One of the questions she asked was, "Were you confident your pokémon would be able to deter your kidnapper?" I nodded in reply, saying, "Yes, I've got total faith in him." I think it was about then I decided to name my Charmeleon Faith.  
  
Not long after, I went back to the pokémon centre, to see how Eevee was doing. I was relieved to hear that he was fine. I had been told I was allowed to keep the small Eevee, because it was obvious its trainer was unlikely to come back for it, what with being wanted by the city's police force. I didn't have a name for Eevee yet, he was very quiet, and did only what he was told. Whenever I petted him, he cringed, as if expecting a harder blow. I felt sorry for it, so I let it stay out of its pokéball for as long as it liked, and gave it a spot by the fire to sleep, in a basket that Persian's are usually treated to.  
  
So, for a while, we left Eevee to do his own thing. The poor guy. I couldn't wait until the next year, when I'd have a licence to be a proper pokémon trainer, and go to defeat gym leaders, and perhaps even enter the pokémon league! But for now, making this Eevee have self-confidence would be the best idea. Unfortunately, with all my efforts, I couldn't get the small pokémon to trust me.  
  
Well, it went on like that, until my eleventh birthday. That was when I got my pokémon licence (Mum was a bit too protective to let me leave before then). There wasn't really much else to get, I mean, I didn't need anything else. I got a cool pokégear with loads of cards, and Mum had managed to get a complete set of HMs - kewlies! 


	3. The Boulderbadge

So I set off on my pokémon journey, however corny that sounds. I got Humility to teleport me east, to Pewter City. It would be boring to have my first few battles in Jhoto, the place I grew up. Pewter was actually pretty boring, loads of rocks were everywhere, and the people weren't overly nice. I was glad the nurses at the Pewter centre knew my name - Mum must've told them I was coming. I took Eevee with me, of course, even though the blessed thing wasn't much more cheerful than it was a few years ago.  
  
The first thing I did, after healing, was go to the gym. It was a giant rock with a door in it, to tell you the truth. I went in, and I could see a huge Onix - bigger than the usual ones, which are pretty darn big - finishing off a poor Ekans. I waited at the edge of the gym, wanting to battle Brock, when this other guy came out from the shadows  
  
"You think you're good enough for Brock, do you?" He said, in a really freaky voice. I nodded. The silhouette grinned, showing white teeth. "You've got no chance," the shadowy figure replied. "You are no match for me, let alone Brock!" Suddenly, there was a Sandshrew in front of me. I released Faith, who didn't need me to tell him to toast that pokémon. Unfortunately for me, the Sandshrew spun around and around, and I don't think the flames even hit it. The yellow pokémon rolled toward Faith, and fainted him instantly. I hated to lose. I always did, and still do. I returned him, and sent out Humility.  
  
"Psybeam!" I yelled, hoping it would be enough to destroy the Sandshrew. Indeed it was, the small pokémon stopped, stiff, in mid rollout. I grinned, and watched as the guy sent out a Digglett. It was tiny.  
  
"Stomp it!" I yelled, and Humility started stomping on the Digglett, but the mole pokémon kept on changing holes, until my Kadabra fainted from exhaustion. I returned him, and looked at the pokéball containing Eevee. I had no other choice, so I released the small pokémon. It looked at the Digglett, sniffing the air cautiously.  
  
"Eevee. Erm." I realised I didn't know many of his attacks, "How about a quick attack?" Eevee was fast, but Digglett was faster. The rabbit-like pokémon hit the ground with tremendous force, as Digglett had dug itself into a hole.  
  
"Eevee, return" I said, depressed. It was heartbreaking to lose my first ever battle. I went to the centre, got my pokémon healed, and battled the mysterious man again. I lost again. I didn't know it, but a kindly woman was watching me. After I lost the fourth time, and my pokémon and I were all very sad to have lost so often, and so terribly, the woman walked up to me.  
  
"Child," She said, "I couldn't help but see you've been losing quite a bit." I nodded, blinking back tears. The woman continued, "Well, I'm past battling myself, but I do have a pokémon from when I was younger!" She grinned, and handed me a pokéball, "It's my Wartortle. I am sure it will obey a young spirited trainer like yourself." I smiled, and took the pokéball, "Thankyou very much. Are you sure you want to give him to me?" She nodded, "Of course. It is heartbreaking to watch you lose." She explained. I grinned,  
  
"Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!" I hugged her around the knees in childish ecstasy. The old woman smiled,  
  
"I am glad you appreciate this act of charity," she said, "Remember that you need a pure heart to be a true pokémon master." I grinned, and nodded, then looked at the pokéball, and said to it,  
  
"I will call you Charity!" I then ran toward the centre, to heal my pokémon. The nurses had become used to seeing me in the centre, and it wasn't long before I was challenging Brock's student. Again he let Sandshrew out first, and I pitched Humility against it. A Psybeam fainted Sandshrew, and I returned Humility - no sense in having him faint. When Digglett was released, I sent Charity out of his pokéball for the first time. I must admit I was awestruck at seeing this pokémon for the first time: a metre high turtle with three tails, and fuzzy ears.  
  
"Water Gun!" I yelled, and Charity sprayed a jet of water at the Digglett, fainting it. I grinned, and ran out and hugged my new pokémon - It was a great achievement for me!  
  
"Can I challenge Brock now?"  
  
"I guess." He said, scowling. I grinned, and skipped happily toward the proper pokémon arena - my first gym match! I was so exited I forgot to heal my pokémon. I yelled at the large figure at the other end,  
  
"Brock! I challenge you!" He looked at me, his expression unchanging as he released a Geodude from its pokéball. I grinned uncontrollably as I let Charity out. Brock's lip curled upward slightly; he was probably amused that a young girl like me had a pokémon like that. Charity looked kind of tired though, but I didn't worry about that.  
  
"Water Gun!" I yelled, and Charity set a jet of water onto the boulder with arms, fainting it almost instantly. I grinned. I might win my first ever gym match! Brock seemed undisturbed, though. "Onix! Go!" he yelled, and sent out his gigantic Onix. Charity looked somewhat scared.  
  
"Water Gun!!"  
  
"Bind it!!" Onix wrapped its tail around Charity, and started squeezing him - hard. He didn't look like he'd be able to take more of this. Charity set a stream of water at Onix, but it didn't do much good.  
  
"Withdraw!"  
  
"Bite it!!"  
  
Charity retreated into his shell, just as the Onix's head zoomed toward him. Unfortunately for me, the shell wasn't strong enough to stop the attack. Charity fainted while he was still in his shell. I returned my only water pokémon, and let Humility out. "Humility! Take your best shot!" I called to him, "Use your Psychic!" Suddenly, the room went out of focus, and Onix got hit - WHAM - right into the wall. I grimaced. Onix didn't look as bad as I'd anticipated; I guess not much can hurt a rock. "ONIX! SLAM IT!"  
  
"Humility! Teleport!!"  
  
Unfortunately for me, Onix was way faster than Humility. My poor pokémon was almost flattened by the giant wall of rock.  
  
"Return!" I yelled, moments before Onix slammed a second time. I sighed. Two more pokémon - Eevee and Faith. Both didn't have any kind of advantage, but Eevee wasn't terribly confident about himself. I released Faith from his pokéball. "Faith! Use Ember!" I yelled  
  
"Onix! Bide!" The Onix just sat there as Faith attacked it. I didn't really know what was going to happen, I was very inexperienced at that point. Of course, just as Onix looked about to faint, he struck - hard. So hard Faith was fainted almost before the attack really hit. I sighed, and returned him. I only had Eevee left. I released it. Eevee was very scared looking, even more so when he noticed the giant snake he was expected to defeat. Onix didn't look too hot, though - ember did do quite a bit of damage.  
  
"Eevee! Finish it off! Fury Swipes!" "Onix! Wrap it!"  
  
I couldn't bear to watch, but I had to. Eevee seemed to know what he was doing, he ran for the Onix's eyes, and hit, hard. The snake roared in pain, and Eevee hit again, and again. Soon Eevee was almost impossible to see, it was so fast. Eventually, Onix fainted - he just wasn't fast enough to match my Eevee. I grinned - I had won my first gym match! Brock handed me a Boulderbadge, and a Bide TM. He told me that it made your pokémon absorb damage, and then pay it back double. I didn't really like that idea much, it sounded cruel to the pokémon. I picked up Eevee, and took him and my other pokémon to the centre for a well-earned rest. 


	4. The Cascadebadge

After sort of hanging around the pokémon centre for a few days, I decided it was time to go to Cerulean City. I was feeling pretty confident, you know, all "I'm going to get myself this badge"-like. So I arrived in Cerulean and I realised I hadn't phoned up my mother yet. How idiotic can you get? I put some coins into the payphone, picked up the receiver, and punched in my number. Too bad I didn't have enough money to pay for video mode; I could only hear her voice. We talked for quite a while, she was proud of me, and worried, too. I assured her I was eating my vegetables and stuff, parents worry too much, I reckon.  
  
After healing my pokémon, I walked into Misty's gym. It was huge, and basically an indoor swimming pool. I looked around nervously, I couldn't see anyone.  
  
"H. Hello?" I said, nervously. A girl who was older than me, who had poked her head through a door I didn't notice, greeted me. "Hi! You are totally adorable! What brings you here, little girl?"  
  
I really didn't like being called a little girl, but I was way too exited and nervous to bother complaining. "I. I want to challenge Misty" I replied nervously "Of course you can, cutie!" She started leading me to near the edge of the pool. I looked at it, it was pretty darn deep.  
  
"Where's Misty?" I asked. It was a pretty dumb question, but you can't challenge someone who you can't see. The lady said something, but I wasn't listening. I was looking at the water, where I could see a shape. Soon, Misty was visible. She only looked about 2 years older than me. She was pretty cheerful. "Hi! You want to challenge me, huh?"  
  
"Yes." I replied, nervously "Okay, walk to the end of the pool" She said, before diving down again, and swimming to the other end. I stood on the edge of the pool, looking into it. I swallowed hard. It was really deep. I called out "What do I do now?" "Now, we battle! It'll be a two on two match, okay?" She replied. "Okay. Just let me figure out who I'm gonna use first." I thought for a while: Faith, Charity, Humility, and Eevee. Eevee wasn't too confident, Faith would have a disadvantage, so that left Charity and Humility. "Okay! I've got it! Charity! Go!" I said, throwing Charity's pokéball onto one of the floating mat thingies. The Wartortle stood up, battle-ready, and the pokéball flew back into my hand.  
  
"Misty calls Poliwhirl!" She called, releasing her Poliwhirl. I looked at Charity, pretty confident I could win.  
  
"Charity! Doubleslap!" I called. Charity jumped onto Poliwhirl's mat, and started slapping it furiously. "Mega Punch!" Misty yelled, and her pokémon punched Charity clean in the jaw. He howled in pain. "Body Slam!" I yelled in reply. Charity withdrew all but his feet into his shell, and hit the Poliwhirl right in its middle. That fainted Poliwhirl! I was so glad! Misty sobbed a bit, but eventually released a Starmie.  
  
"Charity! Use bite!" I said. I was stupid in doing that; I forgot his jaw was sore from Poliwhirl. He tried to bite Starmie, but I think his jaw couldn't open. Poor guy. Then Starmie hit him square in the chest. I returned him; I didn't want him to be hurt again. I let Humility out; he would be able to finish Starmie off. "Humility! Psychic!"  
  
"Dabra!" Humility said, sending a powerful blast of psychic energy at the starfish pokémon, fainting it. I returned Humility, cheering. A Seel walked up to me, opened its mouth, and revealed the Cascadebadge on its tongue. I grinned, glad to have fought well enough to get the Badge. "Yay! Thanks!" I said, finally remembering my manners "You deserve it. Rarely have a I seen such a talented trainer at such a young age" "Thank you! Woohooo!!" I cheered again, walking out the gym, grinning. 


	5. A New Companion

After healing my pokémon at the center, I got Humility to teleport me to Vermillion City - I know, I should've walked, but I was impatient. At the pokémon center there was this person that immediately caught my attention. He was a boy about my age, or maybe a bit older, with short, neat, red hair, expensive-looking clothes, and a gold watch. He had a huge, yet stylish, backpack. That wasn't what caught my attention, though. What caught my attention were his eyes: they were purple. Bright purple. It looked incredibly weird, seriously. In his hand he had a steaming mug of something green. I gave the nurse my pokémon, and sat on the chair across from him, because he was the only other person there.  
  
"Hi," I said, feeling kind of stupid. "My name's Vera Crystal. What's yours?"  
  
The guy looked at me, his expression was somewhat nervous, as if I were the Pope or something. He took a sip of his drink, before replying. "I'm Cael. Cael Yetinca." His tone of voice was almost nervous. It took me a while to figure out why, causing an awkward silence until it dawned on me. "Cael Yetinca as in Yetinca, the brand of pokémon perfume potion things?" I asked "My. father invented them," He said, guardedly. Suddenly his clothing seemed normal - or even shabby, for someone who was related to the inventor of those potions that are in the front of all those shops, that all the popular girls at school - you know, the ones who wear incredibly short skirts and all - liked to use on their pokémon - and themselves - instead of the conventional potions. "Wow. He must be a zillionare!"  
  
"He is."  
  
"How cool's that. My Dad's a warden and Mum's a nurse. What is your mother like? Do you have any brothers and sisters?"  
  
"What's with all these questions?" He asks, now seeming irritated. "What business is it of yours anyway?"  
  
"Sorry. Mum said it was rude."  
  
"Don' t worry about it. I just got back from a long journey."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"I'll be thirteen in a month or so,"  
  
"November?"  
  
"Yes, 17th" He said, not sounding too interested "I'm 12 on the 14th of March," There was a short pause, before I broke the silence. "Your pokémon are healed," I pointed out to Cael, who seemed to be the proud owner of a set of gold-and-silver pokéballs - very fancy looking. The guy seemed like a real snob. "Please don't say you're staying here for the night" "I am,"  
  
"Darn."  
  
I picked up my four pokéballs, feeling embarrassed about their red-and- white plainness. I decided to get them spruced up a little - carving them. Mum said she carved a name into someone's pokéballs once, because they were pretty careless, and always lost them. I was sure the nurses would have some equipment.  
  
"Excuse me, Nurse Joy?"  
  
"Yes, Vera?"  
  
"Could you engrave my pokéballs"  
  
"Sure. With your name?"  
  
"I didn't have my name in mind"  
  
"Then, what is your great idea?"  
  
"Well, on this," I said, handing her Faith's pokéball. "Could you put a cross? And on Charity's, could you put an anchor?"  
  
"Do you want anything on the other two?"  
  
"No thanks"  
  
"Okay, come here in the morning and it should be done. You have to share a room with Cael, is that okay?"  
  
"Sure, it's fine," I replied, despite not really wanting to sleep near that Cael guy. I took my bag into the room. Cael was already asleep, but he'd taken the top bunk, which really annoyed me. I had no choice though, so I put my sleeping bag onto the bed, climbed in, and fell asleep almost instantly. 


	6. The Thunderbadge

The next morning I woke up, not too surprised to find Cael wasn't in the room. But his bags were still there, so it was too much to hope that he'd left permanently. I went into the centre, ready to pick up my pokémon - the pokéballs were all engraved, and they looked nice, at least I didn't have boring old pokéballs anymore! Cael was eating breakfast at the only free table - the pokémon centre was having a lecture soon, which I couldn't afford, so it was natural for it to be full. I grabbed some cereal, and sat across from Cael, in the only vacant seat. He, being Mr Friendly, struck up a conversation instantly.  
  
"Hello again!"  
  
"Hi," I said, grumpy, mostly due to my lack of breakfast "So, you're challenging Lt. Surge?"  
  
"Err. Yesh" I replied, through a mouthful of cereal "Me too. I just got here yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to try against him yet"  
  
"Me either,"  
  
"Why don't we go together? I find gyms scary,"  
  
"Okay" I said, not really caring either way.  
  
So it was decided, and after breakfast we both entered the dimly lit gym. This one was. empty. Very empty.  
  
"Eh. Excuse me? Lt. Surge? Could we challenge you?" I said, hesitantly. Suddenly, the entire gym lit up, revealing a very old looking man.  
  
"Ah, two trainers. I will take you at the same time, like I took the two fighters from the enemy in the Great War!" He began rambling on about a battle long past - I must say I tuned out, and only started paying attention again when Cael nudged me  
  
"I said, lassie, which type will you use?" Surge asked me "Err," I thought of my pokémon again: Faith, Charity, Humility, and Eevee. I knew that Surge trained lightning types, so Charity would be no good. Humility would be my best bet. "I'll use a psychic type!"  
  
"And you, youngster?" He said, addressing Cael  
  
"I'll use a normal type, sir" "You're a coward! Have you a lightning type?"  
  
"Err. Yes sir"  
  
"Use that then, m'boy! Go! Raichu!" He said, sending out his Raichu. It looked easily good enough to take down Humility - and maybe Cael's electric type, too "Humility! Go!" I released Humility, who looked nervous until Cael silently released his lightning type - a Voltorb. I knew those were tough. Very tough. "Humility! Psychic!"  
  
"Kienyi! Sonic boom!"  
  
"Raichu! Thunder!"  
  
The thunder hit Humility and Kienyi, the Voltorb. Luckily, they managed to send their attacks off onto Raichu as well. The result - three very tired pokémon after just one attack "Humility! Psychic again!"  
  
"Kienyi! Rollout!"  
  
"Raichu! Mega Kick!!"  
  
This time, it was over quickly - the Voltorb rolled straight OVER the Raichu, flattening it, and the Psychic finished it off. Lt Surge spoke  
  
"Ah, yes, like the time Johnny and myself took down the anti-aircraft gun in." He continued talking until he realised we still needed badges. He threw two of them to us, and we went out almost immediately after returning our pokémon - there was no way I wanted to hear another long talk about the war!  
  
"Good battle" Cael said to me when we were outside the gym.  
  
"You too! Easiest badge I ever won!" I said, grinning.  
  
"Heh, yeah. So, where you off to next?"  
  
"Celadon City. I want a Rainbowbadge."  
  
"Oh yeah, how're you going to get there? I'm taking the underground path"  
  
"Err, well, I'm teleporting,"  
  
"Teleporting? You get more experience with your pokémon if you walk!"  
  
"But it takes longer!"  
  
"Why not come with me to Celadon? That way you can judge, and I'll share my food with you"  
  
"Okay!" I said, not wanting to turn down free food. "How long will it take?"  
  
"On foot? A week,"  
  
"A WEEK?"  
  
"Well. yes. unless you have pokémon we could ride?"  
  
"Uh. I don't"  
  
"Neither do I. My Voltorb, my Persian and my Slowpoke are all I've got"  
  
"Darn."  
  
"Well, let's hurry. The sooner we leave the sooner we can get there!"  
  
"Shouldn't we heal our pokémon first? Can't we leave tomorrow?"  
  
Cael seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Tomorrow, yes, that's a good idea."  
  
So it was decided. We gave our pokéballs to the nurse - Mum's cousin - and walked into our room. The day had left me so tired I climbed straight into bed without bothering to get changed first. 


	7. The Rainbowbadge

The next morning we set out to the underground path, after breakfast at the pokémon centre. We reached the underground path after only needing to camp out for one night. On the way we talked about lots of things - I told him how I met my pokémon, he told me about his, you know, normal stuff. He payed for both our 20-yen admissions into the underground path - with a 1,000-yen note. The attendant asked if he had anything smaller, and he shook his head. I was pretty dumbstruck at the large amount of money he had - I only had a few 10-yen (and smaller) coins. Not exactly loaded, was I?  
  
So we continued walking, and I noticed Cael was bending over the entire time, looking on the floor for something, and suddenly picked up a small shiny thing.  
  
"Yes! I found it!"  
  
"Err. what is it?"  
  
"A Nugget, duh."  
  
"A Nugget?" I repeated  
  
"They're worth 5,000 yen,"  
  
"Whoa! That's a lot of money!" I breathed, although I didn't know why someone as rich as him - or his family, I should say, - would want another 5,000 yen.  
  
"Yeah, I guess it is," He agreed. I also began paying more attention to the floor, but I didn't find anything for the rest of the journey - neither did Cael, come to think of it.  
  
Well, to cut a very long, boring story short, about three days later we arrived in Celadon City - and it was HUGE. Even Cael seemed in awe of it, and I'm sure he had a house as big as the department store and the gym put together! "So, what do we do now?" I asked, feeling dumb "Well, first it would be best if we went to the pokémon centre and got our pokémon healed, and then we should challenge Erika!"  
  
"Good idea" I agreed, wondering why I hadn't thought of that. We went to the pokémon centre, said 'Hello' to the nurse - Mum's third cousin twice removed, I think - and, most importantly, healed our pokémon. We then went to the gym.  
  
The gym was a large, green building, and, when we entered, it was full to the brim of plants. Cael and I entered the gym, together, and I stepped forward.  
  
"Uh. Erika? We challenge you"  
  
"Hello, you two!" Said a cheerful girl, a few years older than me, who appeared from behind a large tree, "I'll battle you one at a time, starting with you," She pointed at Cael. "You got it!" He said. "Go, Saliba!"  
  
A stunning-looking Persian appeared in the grassy arena. It looked like something out of a picture book, gleaming perfectly. It had a golden collar on, with the word Saliba on it, in diamonds. "Purr,"  
  
"This looks like a job for you, Gloom!!" Said Erika, releasing a pokémon that looked like a flower.  
  
"Uh, Saliba, Fury Swipes!"  
  
The Persian started slashing furiously at the Gloom, but it released some sort of powder from the centre of its flower, and Saliba was suddenly asleep.  
  
"Saliba, return! Kienyi! Go! Rollout!"  
  
The Voltorb started rolling toward the Gloom "Gloom! Stun Spore!"  
  
Suddenly, Kienyi became unable to move  
  
"Vine whip!" Yelled Erika, and the Gloom started whipping the round pokémon - it didn't take long for Kienyi to faint. Cael looked annoyed.  
  
"Uh. Vaana! Go!" He yelled, releasing his final pokémon from its gold-and- silver ball - a Slowpoke.  
  
"Slowwwwwww.."  
  
"Ah! Easy! Gloom! Razor Leaf!!" Yelled Erika, and two sharp-looking leaves hit Vaana, and fainted it almost instantly. Cael looked ready to cry, as he returned the Slowpoke. He managed to say "Your turn, Vera," without crying, but he did wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his designer jacket. I knew he was upset - he was very careful not to get his clothes dirty or wet. He still is, come to think of it.  
  
"Okay, I've got a fire type!" I grinned, and released Faith. "Faith! Flamethrower!" I yelled.  
  
"Razor Leaf!" Erika said, in an attempt to counter it, but Faith was much too strong - he toasted the leaves, AND the Gloom. Erika returned it, and sighed,  
  
"Okay, you can have the Rainbowbadge as proof you beat me," She said, reluctantly handing over the badge, before looking at Cael. "Your friend had best train his pokémon harder." Cael started crying the moment we were out of the gym. 


	8. A Fire Type for Cael

Cael started crying the moment we were out of the gym. Well, not really crying, more sobbing. Okay, he wasn't exactly sobbing, either, but tears were streaming down his cheeks, without making any noise, you know what I mean. Yeah, well, I put my arm around his shoulders, trying to comfort him, like.  
  
"Don't worry; it'll be okay," I said, trying to reassure him.  
  
"I can't believe I lost!" He wailed, as we were walking toward the pokémon centre. He sniffed loudly. "I've never lost anything before. The breeder who sold Saliba is a crook,"  
  
"Err, no offence, Cael, but blaming a pokémon breeder who sold you a Persian almost seven years ago is not going to help anything. I think you should catch a new pokémon!"  
  
"I would never ever catch a weak, common pokémon! I want one that has been bred properly, that -" He was ready to launch into a long speech, I knew it was coming.  
  
"Cael, you can be a pain sometimes. Why don't we go find a snobby breeder for you, then?" "Okay," He said, having stopped his crying. He didn't look too happy, though. I don't think I even cried the first time I lost to Brock's sidekick! And here he was, bawling because his pokémon lost to a gym leader they were weak against! Of course, I wasn't thinking that at the time.  
  
"So, do you know where a breeder is?" I asked, feeling dumb that I put forward that idea without even knowing WHERE the nearest breeder was. Cael, however, came to my rescue.  
  
"I've got a good map!" He said, pulling out a Pokégear Map-Card. His Map- Card was much better than mine. He said "Fire Pokémon Breeder, Celadon City" - it was voice-activated! - And the map showed him a house not far from the city - good thing, I was tired from walking for the past week or so!  
  
So we set off toward the breeding place, forgetting to heal our pokémon. Looking back, I can't help wondering how differently everything would've turned out if we had gone to the pokémon centre.  
  
***  
  
The breeder's place was, well, quite boring. But then again, all we saw were a few weird puddles of steaming red goo in the front yard - Slugma. Cael seemed in his element, knocking on the door, and talking about who- knows-what with the breeder guy - I must admit I wasn't paying attention! Eventually, Cael elbowed me.  
  
"Come on, he says he's got the perfect pokémon for me!" Cael said, with a grin. Right then he looked like something from one of those postcards they have - you know, a kid, with freckles, and dimples, the whole bit. I know it sounds strange, but I felt like I was, I dunno, the photographer, no, something worse, the person who brings models cups of coffee and stuff. I felt like Cael was the centre of attention - okay, he was, I mean, he DID have more money than my entire family! We went into the guy's backyard - with even MORE fire pokémon. But he led us to a paddock that seemed larger than all the others. I couldn't see anything in it, until the breeder whistled - one of those whistles where you put your fingers in your mouth, I've always wanted to be able to whistle like that, but I can't. Heck, I can't even click my fingers! Once the guy whistled, a HUGE horse-like pokémon appeared. Instead of a mane and tail it had flames. It also had a horn. Its ivory coat glistened in the sunlight, it looked perfect, like something out of Pokémon Breeder's Monthly. "Kiddo, you can have him if you've got enough money"  
  
"How much?" Cael asked, pulling out his incredibly thick wallet.  
  
"Hmm. He's my breeding stallion, so I won't let him go for less than 2 mill."  
  
I almost fainted. 2 million yen! That's more than my mother made in a year! "Hmm." Cael said, thoughtfully. "I'll give you 1.5"  
  
The breeder seemed to have yen signs in his eyes. "You've got yourself a deal!" He said. "Give me the money and he's yours."  
  
Cael handed over the money as if it was no more than the 40-yen entry fee into the underground path. My eyes must've been the size of dinner plates. The breeder grinned slyly. "Okay, Kiddo, he's yours. Once you capture him!"  
  
Cael looked confused, before it dawned on him - he would have to catch the Rapidash HIMSELF - and he didn't have any battle-fit pokémon!  
  
"Uh. Sir, can't you just give me his pokéball?"  
  
"You catch him, you keep him. That's the rules!" Replied the breeder, who then moved to sit on a nearby rock, counting the money.  
  
"Uh. Vera, I don't have any pokémon that are fit to battle. Would you mind weakening it for me?"  
  
"Okay, I guess so," I said, not really wanting to weaken a pokémon I wasn't even going to capture, but, being a friend, it was hard to say no. With a sigh, I released my pokémon  
  
"Faith, go!"  
  
"Char! Char!!"  
  
"Err, weaken the Rapidash! We want to capture it!"  
  
"Char!!"  
  
Faith started setting flames onto the Rapidash, which really didn't seem to mind. It just set flames onto Faith, and on and on it went, until Faith decided to try a Bite attack. He bit the Rapidash's leg, and that set the horse-like pokémon off! It ran and ran, jumping over the fence of its paddock. Cael looked as panicked as I felt.  
  
"Err, Faith, run after it!" I yelled, knowing it was probably not going to work. Suddenly, Faith was surrounded in flames. I thought he was using Flame Wheel or something. The flames grew taller, and wider, and my pokémon was invisible, engulfed in fire. I wondered why he wasn't running after the Rapidash. Suddenly, the fire disappeared, and where my Charmeleon was standing, there was now a HUGE Charizard - it looked bigger than any I'd ever seen before. It walked in front of me, stepping over the fence like it wasn't there, and stooped slightly. I got the idea - he wanted me to ride on his back. I climbed on, nervously, being careful to avoid his flamed tail. He grabbed a stunned looking Cael, scratching him with his claws. He started flying at what seemed to be supersonic speed. Cael looked totally freaked out, but I managed to haul him onto the back of my newly evolved fire pokémon. We were next to each other, and he had his arm tightly around my shoulders - I guess he was afraid of falling off. I wasn't scared because I knew Faith would never let me fall. Perhaps the tail flame was what made Cael nervous.  
  
All this happened surprisingly quickly - within about 5 minutes Faith had landed in front of the Rapidash, and Cael jumped off - I guess he wanted to be ready to catch the pokémon once Faith weakened it. I, myself, was far too exited to want to get off my pokémon - who wouldn't be? Faith roared, and lifted the Rapidash high into the air, dropping it roughly onto the floor. He did this about ten times, or more. Without a trainer to help it, the horse-like pokémon seemed too confused to fight back. When it couldn't stand up for weakness, Cael threw a gold-and-silver pokéball at the Rapidash, catching it. I thought that Cael's pokéballs would probably be incredibly effective on their own, but I didn't say so. Cael grinned, looking incredibly pleased with himself "Ha! I caught the Rapidash! I'll call it Haaj!"  
  
I had no idea what the name was for. I didn't really care, either. "But I was the one who weakened it, Cael!"  
  
"Well, I payed for it!" He countered. I wasn't in a mood to argue, so I nodded in agreement.  
  
"So, I guess we can Fly back to Celadon, can't we?" "Yeah, I guess," Cael agreed. I grinned, and petted Faith  
  
"Good work. Can you Fly to Celadon?"  
  
"Char! Char!" He said, confidently. I jumped onto his back, and pulled Cael on also. My friend seemed reluctant to let go of my hand - I suppose it was because of the tail flame, again, because he put his arms around Faith's neck really tightly. I held onto Faith's wings, where they met the body. My pokémon flew to Celadon, at incredible speed. 


	9. Cael's Second Shot

We reached the large city less than ten minutes later, and landed outside the pokémon centre. We both had all our pokémon healed, and then we walked back toward the gym. On the way we saw the game corner. Cael said he wanted to see if there were any good pokémon there as prizes - I wondered why he would want to spend half of his life sitting in front of a slot machine to win the grand prize. Still, he went into the prize room, and found out that there was a pokémon called Porygon2 - and it was 'only' a million coins. I wondered how long it would take to get that many - probably a year or two. We went into the game room, and Cael walked up to the coin-purchasing place. He put a HUGE wad of notes on the counter and asked for 1 million coins. The wad of notes was put in a safe-type thing, and a giant box of counters was given to Cael. I thought they'd crush him. We walked back into the prize department, and gave the coins to one of the ladies. She handed him a red-and-white pokéball. He took it, without the look of disgust I thought he would have, given a 'cheap' pokéball like that. He simply released the pokémon - I looked on in awe, it was all shiny, and looked more than worth what Cael payed for it, and returned it into one of his gold-and-silver balls.  
  
"I'll call you Ocra," He said to the new pokéball, dropping the original one into a rubbish bin - I assumed someone would probably see it and take it for themselves.  
  
We entered the gym again, and Erika released her Gloom without any formalities. Cael released Haaj.  
  
"Flamethrower!" He said, confidently, and, before Gloom could counter attack, the small pokémon was toasted. He grinned. Come to think of it, I was grinning too. We slapped each other high fives, and left the gym. Cael was all smiles  
  
"Did you see how I beat her? Haaj and I are unstoppable!"  
  
I rolled my eyes, "Cael, you realise that you didn't train it?"  
  
"Well, I will be training it from now on, won't I?" "True," I mumbled, tired from the long day of travelling. We reached the pokémon centre, and he shouted me to dinner - sushi, my favourite food, of course. Then it was bedtime. We were in the same room again, but I didn't mind, we were friends, now. There were two bunk beds in this room - it was fairly big. That meant we each got a top bunk! Cael didn't come in till after I was asleep, though. How he could get up so early and go to sleep so late was beyond me. 


	10. Hope

The next morning I woke up to find Cael gone. I thought nothing of it - he'd probably gone to breakfast early, because I'm a sound sleeper. I opened my bag, and put on my jeans and shirt. I opened the door, sleepily, and walked into the front area of the pokémon centre. I couldn't see anyone, but I could hear some noise, coming from one of the rooms. I'd spent a good deal of my life in a pokémon centre, so I knew exactly which room, if this centre was the same as Mahogany's - it was the Intensive Care Unit. I slowly walked in, and there was Cael, and about six nurses, and two other people.  
  
"What's hap-" I started so say, but Cael turned around and put a finger to his lips. I stood next to him, looking inside the small plastic box thing. Inside was probably the cutest pokémon I'd ever seen - it was small, round, had a tail with an orb on the end, and a head. That's all I could see as the rest of its body was covered in wool.  
  
"What's that?" I whispered, feeling like an idiot.  
  
"A Mareep. Its trainer left it outside the centre last night. We've got no idea what happened, poor little thing." Cael whispered in reply. I found this unusual; Cael usually made a show of acting tough, even though I could tell it was just an act. Why he'd act like someone else was beyond me.  
  
Suddenly, some sparks flickered around the Mareep's orb. I jumped in fright, gripping Cael's hand tightly.  
  
"Calm down, Vera, it is just a few sparks. It means the pokémon is recovering,"  
  
"Oh." I said, feeling stupid. I started watching the Mareep, hoping it would recover.  
  
"Do you think it'll make it?" Cael asked Nurse Joy.  
  
"Of course it will! Its trainer took it here just in time!"  
  
Cael looked relieved, I felt relieved, too. But I did have a few second thoughts - the pokémon looked like it was a toy, it was hardly breathing. Or perhaps it was just because the tiny pokémon had such thick hair. Either way, the pokémon looked in for a fight.  
  
"I hope it'll make it," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. Cael squeezed my hand.  
  
"I hope so too," He said, his voice comforting. The nurses had pretty much forgotten we were there, busy monitoring the small Mareep.  
  
Cael and I sat there for what seemed like hours, the other trainers and the nurses had left. One of the nurses, however, came in every ten minutes to check on the Mareep. Shortly after she left for the umpteenth time, the woolly pokémon started stirring. I watched with bated breath - I think Cael had dozed off, believe it or not. I shook him slightly, and he seemed to revive.  
  
"Huh?" He asked, looking confused "Watch!" I whispered, not really knowing why I was whispering. He did, and the sheep-like pokémon opened its eyes - big eyes, incredibly cute, too. I grinned.  
  
"Aww, she's soooo cute! I hope she pulls through"  
  
"Me too," Cael agreed. "Uh, do you think we should get the nurse or something?"  
  
"Good idea!" he said, and left the room. I stood there, watching the pokémon. It had stood up by now, and its entire body was surrounded by sparks. I thought it was going to explode or something. But Nurse Joy came in, with Cael in tow. She looked incredibly pleased, and took the Mareep out of the small capsule thing, and into a more standard cot-type-thing.  
  
"Uh, where's its trainer?" I asked, worried.  
  
"I don't know, we just found it. We'll probably just release it into the wild when it gets better if its trainer won't claim it,"  
  
"Hey, could I have it?"  
  
"Well, if we can't find its real trainer by the time it recovers, you can have her. We don't even know if she will fully recover,"  
  
"I hope she will,"  
  
"Me too," Cael agreed. "I'd hate to see a small pokémon like that die" I immediatly decided that, if I were to keep it, I would name it Hope. It suited the small pokémon well. 


	11. Arrival At Fuschia

Cael and I decided to stay in the pokémon centre and watch Hope - I had told Cael of my name for her, and he said it was a very appropriate name - recover. It was amazing to think that the energy-filled Mareep we were seeing was the same one we had thought was not going to make it just a week before. I was silently hoping that its trainer wouldn't come back for it, however bad it was to think that. I always petted it, and I was the only one who didn't get shocked by its static electricity. Even Cael got a small shock whenever he touched it, and the nurses all wore rubber gloves. Speaking of Cael, he was acting strangely. He was very, very agreeable. It was freaky; no matter what I said, he'd agree with me. Even when I told him he was spoiled rotten and didn't know how good it was to be witnessing the recovery of Hope. It scared me. Then, suddenly, he stopped acting like that, and started acting differently again. He wasn't acting macho any more, but he wasn't being over-agreeable either. Who knows what had happened. I guess that's what happens when you're 13, like he almost was. Hormones and stuff. Whatever it was, it was pretty scary.  
  
Soon, Hope had fully recovered. Cael and I left the pokémon centre, together, and I had a new pokémon on my team! We set off for Fuchsia City, where a new gym, and the Safari Zone were! As we were walking, a thought suddenly struck me.  
  
"Hey, isn't it your birthday soon?"  
  
"Yeah, it's in three days,"  
  
"Really? Darn, I didn't get you anything,"  
  
"Don't worry," He replied, shrugging, "I've already got plenty of stuff."  
  
"Haha, I guess, you bought that Porygon2 and Haaj, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah, that's my birthday money. My parents gave it to me in advance..." He said the word 'parents' almost hesitantly.  
  
"Really? Lucky. I wish I had that much money to spend on pokémon,"  
  
"Yeah, I guess I'm lucky," He said, a little sadly, to tell you the truth. "Hmm," I said, absently, when, suddenly, my next great idea hit me. "Hey, why don't we Fly to Fuchsia? It'll be quicker,"  
  
"Good idea, Vera," He said in agreement, and I promptly released Faith. Cael looked somewhat scared of his flame, so I clambered onto Faith's back, before offering Cael my hand. He took it, gratefully, and I pulled him up.  
  
"Thanks," He said, smiling.  
  
"You're scared of the flame, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. It's dangerous, I think,"  
  
"Don't worry, you won't fall off, or into the flame. You're safe."  
  
"Uh-huh. Thanks. Now, let's go!"  
  
"Hehe, yeah. Faith, fly us to Fuchsia!" I said, proudly, as if I was a general ordering my troops to attack the enemy or something. Faith flapped his colossal wings a few times, and glided toward the city. He flew surprisingly fast, and, in less than an hour, we landed in front of the pokémon centre. Cael looked a bit dizzy, though, but I didn't really think anything of it. By that time it had begun to get dark, so he went into the room early. I decided to phone Mum, mostly to ask her to help me find Cael a birthday gift. I punched in our number, after inserting about 40 yen. I felt relieved to see her face again, even if it was identical to the nurses who worked in other pokémon centres. Eventually, Mum brought up the subject of Cael.  
  
"I've heard you've got yourself a travelling buddy, Vera."  
  
"Uh-huh,"  
  
"I hear he's very cute. What do you think?"  
  
I could feel my cheeks going red at that remark. Sure, Cael was cute, but I didn't really like him in that way. "Uh, yeah, I guess so."  
  
"Oooo," She said, teasingly. I felt like punching the screen  
  
"Mu-um. He's just my friend!"  
  
"Sure he is, sweetie. Or is that what he calls you?"  
  
"Uh, no. Anyway, it's his birthday in three days. What do you think I should get him?"  
  
"I don't know. Perhaps you should get him an elemental stone?"  
  
"I'm pretty sure none of his pokémon evolve with stones."  
  
"Really? What types has he got?"  
  
"A Rapidash, Porygon2, Slowpoke, and a-"  
  
Mum interrupted me before I could get any further. "I'm pretty sure that Slowpokes evolve into Slowbros when they're exposed to a water stone. And I just so happen to have one in the centre! I'll get it transported over!"  
  
"Wait, where'd you get it?"  
  
"A fisherman hooked it up, he said I could have it, but I haven't found a use for it. I'm sure your friend would like it," She said, stressing the word friend. I glared at her, but didn't say anything about it.  
  
"Okay, so you can get it transported now?"  
  
"Yes, you're in Fuchsia?"  
  
"Yeah, we flew Faith,"  
  
"I thought he was a Charmeleon? They don't have wings!"  
  
"He evolved!"  
  
"Did he now? You really should tell me that sort of thing."  
  
"I know, I know, but could you get that water stone over here?"  
  
"Sure, you'll have it no time!" She said, and, with that, my money ran out. I didn't bother ringing Mum back, mostly because I'd run out of yen. Suddenly, the transporter beside the phone flashed, and a shining water stone appeared in it. I thanked Mum silently, put it in my backpack, and quietly went into the room. Cael was asleep, mumbling something. I couldn't help but listen - I heard the word 'Rocket' repeated dozens of times, and what sounded like whimpering. I decided it was just a nightmare - he had a special hatred for team rocket, which I never really had a chance to inquire about. He always changed the subject whenever I tried to bring it up. I climbed into the bottom bunk, having changed into my pyjamas. I couldn't get to sleep, though, because he was moving around on the bed above mine. It was incredibly noisy, but I didn't want to wake him. I wouldn't like it if someone had woken me, even if I was having a nightmare. Suddenly, he started screaming. Not the type of scream you use when you're fooling around with your friends, not even the scream I tried to scream years before, when I was kidnapped. This was a scream of pure terror. It was bloodcurdling, really. I sat up with a start, bumping my head on Cael's bunk. I was about to yell in pain, when I suddenly thought that perhaps someone was in this room with us, which was why Cael was so freaked out. His scream had subsided, and all I could hear was whimpering, so I realised it was the nightmare - if someone was in the room, he'd still be screaming. I got out of bed, and shook him vigorously. Just in time, too, he'd started another scream. He woke up in the middle of it, and looked at me, an expression of fear in his eyes. About a second after, he seemed to calm down, and started breathing heavily.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"A nightmare,"  
  
"I gathered that. You were screaming like a foghorn!"  
  
"Don't joke, it was scary,"  
  
"Really? What happened?"  
  
"Uh, nothing,"  
  
"Nothing's really that scary?"  
  
"No, uh, you, uh, you wouldn't understand."  
  
"What wouldn't I understand?"  
  
"You just wouldn't, okay? Thanks for waking me up. I want to go back to sleep."  
  
"Okay," I said, feeling a bit ticked off. I wanted to know what was happening in the dream. Suddenly, I remembered his mention of the word 'Rocket'. "It didn't have anything to do with Team Rocket, did it?"  
  
His eyes suddenly became fearful again, but only for a second. "No, no, nothing like that at all. Now get to sleep,"  
  
"Yes, Mum," I said, annoyed at his refusal to talk. I climbed back into my bed, and, after much tossing and turning while I was wondering, managed to get to sleep. 


	12. Safari Zone

The next morning, Cael woke me up, all smiles.  
  
"Rise and shine, Vera!"  
  
"Urgh. What time is it?"  
  
"7:30am - just the right time for breakfast!"  
  
"You have GOT to be kidding,"  
  
"Nope! It's ready! Come into the pokémon centre, already!" He said, pulling me out of bed.  
  
"Okay, okay, okay," I said, being dragged into the front of the pokémon centre. There was a small table set up, with pancakes and some sort of green tea on it. I sat down on one side, and Cael sat on the other. He was stuck into his pancakes and the sweet-smelling green tea.  
  
"Uh, what's this green stuff?" I asked, only being used to the cheapo tea that my family gets, even though we're not really big on tea in the Crystal household. "It's Ocra tea! My favourite!" He said, proudly, after swallowing about four pancakes at once. I took a tentative sip, and, my goodness, that stuff tastes excellent, like moonbeams and rainbows, and sushi. It was delicious. "Wow! This is good!" I said, revived slightly by its taste  
  
"Yeah, I know," He beamed, proud to have introduced me to that tea. I continued eating in silence, due to the ungodly hour I was woken up. I would've strangled him if he weren't so likeable. "So, what are we doing today?" I asked, sipping my fifth mug of Ocra, having finished the pancakes. "Safari Zone!" He announced, as if he was the executive of a company and had just come up with the idea that would lead to the company's success.  
  
"I heard it's expensive," I said, still drowsy from the early wakeup. "My treat, of course,"  
  
"Big surprise there. You've got so much money it's not funny,"  
  
"Hey, money isn't everything!"  
  
"Okay, Einstein, then what is?"  
  
He hesitated for a moment there, before saying. "Uh... Health," somewhat sheepishly. "Money can buy health,"  
  
"Can't!"  
  
"Can too!"  
  
"Can't!"  
  
"Okay, fine, it can't." I said, too tired to really argue.  
  
"You're right about that!" He said, grinning one of those postcard smiles again. My stomach went funny; I thought it was just due to my overindulgence of pancakes and tea...  
  
After about an hour we were both ready to go to the Safari Zone, kitted in jeans and stuff. Cael's were, naturally, top of the line. I envied his richness, silently promising to myself that I would become a famous movie star and buy myself lots of stuff, just like what Cael's got. After about five minutes of walking, we went into the large entrance building. Cael went up to the counter, and returned with two bags of Safari Balls, grinning.  
  
"Okay, we're allowed in! Let's go!" He said cheerfully. First, we handed our pokémon to the warden, then we walked through the big double doors, and I just gasped. It was amazing - long, long grass, a few rest houses visible, and a huge lake in the middle of it. Cael also looked awestruck. I wondered why - after all, he was part of what probably was the richest family in Jhoto or Kanto! He probably had something like this in his backyard. I didn't say so, though. He seemed embarrassed to talk about his richness.  
  
"It's big, isn't it?" He broke the silence.  
  
"Yeah, really big. There's meant to be lots of pokémon"  
  
"Of course there are. Except you're not allowed to use your own to capture them, only bait and rocks,"  
  
"I didn't see any bait?"  
  
"There's a lot in the bag," He said, opening a pocket in his bag, revealing a lot of dark yellow pellets.  
  
"Okay, we've got bait. Let's go catch some pokémon!"  
  
"Who says we have to catch pokémon?" He said with a sly grin. I had no idea what he meant. "Huh?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry," He sighed. "Let's catch some!"  
  
"That's the spirit!" I grinned. "Let's get them!"  
  
With that, we walked into the long grass. I couldn't see anything, not even Cael who was right next to me... or was he?  
  
"Cael?"  
  
"I'm right here," Said a voice from beside me  
  
"I can't see you,"  
  
"I can't see you either," he said, and I felt a hand touch mine.  
  
"Is that you?" I asked, nervous.  
  
"Yeah, this way we won't lose each other,"  
  
"How are you meant to catch pokémon in grass this long and thick?"  
  
"I dunno," He said, truthfully. "Perhaps there's a clearing or something?"  
  
"I don't think so, but it wouldn't hurt to look," I said, still holding his hand tightly. I didn't want to get separated from him - being alone without my pokémon in the middle of a place inhabited by really strong pokémon isn't my idea of a nice outing. Suddenly, something hit me in the head. The next thing I remember was Cael leaning over me. Which was spooky. Being unconscious and waking up to see your best - okay, only - friend leaning over you is freaky. Believe me.  
  
"Darn, you're awake," He joked - or, at least, I think he was joking. "I was just about to give you mouth-to-mouth!"  
  
"Huh?" I said, groggily. "What happened?"  
  
"A Marowak hit you with its bone-club,"  
  
"I don't see a Marowak?" I asked, confused. "Did you scare it off?"  
  
"No..." He said, twirling a Safari Ball on his finger. "I caught it!"  
  
"I thought you didn't like wild pokémon?" I said, which wasn't the most appropriate thing to say in the situation, I guess.  
  
"I don't. But Nyassa here gave you a pretty big hit, and she's not on very high a level..."  
  
"I see. So you caught her just because she was strong?"  
  
"And because she hurt you. I real-"  
  
Suddenly, a booming voice was heard. "VERA CRYSTAL AND CAEL YETINCA! YOUR SAFARI ZONE TIME IS UP!" "What? Already?" I said, as Cael helped me up. We had ten minutes to get back to the house, or we'd have to forfeit the pokémon we caught. Which, in our case, was just an aggressive Marowak. Cael seemed to know the way out, because, a minute later, he'd dragged me out of the grass, and into the building. He got his Marowak checked out, and we got our pokémon returned. I wasn't terribly pleased at losing them, even if was only for an hour... or was it more? Didn't we pay for four hours of Safari Zone time? I pulled Cael to the side after the formalities of getting our pokémon back were over.  
  
"How long was I unconscious for?"  
  
"Just under three and a half hours"  
  
"So what exactly were you doing for three hours?"  
  
"Well, it took about an hour to catch Nyassa - she kept on running off - then I went to the rest stop, and I couldn't find anyone there. Then I was standing around, not really knowing what to do. Then I started wondering if I should try to help you or something. I remembered that mouth-to-mouth is meant to help, so I was about to, but then you woke up..."  
  
"WATER is what you use on fainted people. You give mouth-to-mouth to people who can't breathe, dimwit," Cael looked somewhat hurt when I said this. "But I guess your heart was in the right place..." "It most certainly was!"  
  
"Yeah. Well, you owe me dinner."  
  
"I always buy the food!"  
  
"I know. So tonight will be no exception, will it?" "Darn." He said, in mock annoyance. We walked back to the pokémon centre, together, talking about the day's events. When we reached the centre, I was somewhat stunned. It was CHOCCAS full of people. The only table that wasn't taken was the small one that we usually sat at - the nurses must've kept it clear for us. We sat down, ordered, and waited for our food to come. I ordered sushi, of course, and Cael ordered some sort of curry. The nurse brought us drinks - Ocra tea, to my delight. As I was sipping on mine, Cael broke the silence - okay, it was pretty noisy, but we were quiet. I was enjoying the taste of the tea, and who knows what Cael was thinking.  
  
"Uh, Vera?" He said, hesitantly.  
  
"Yeah?" I asked, wondering why he would sound so nervous. Perhaps he was afraid he'd get hero worship from me! Hardly likely; he wasn't exactly there most of the time that I was unconscious.  
  
"I, uh, really... I really think you should try curry some time!" He said, looking embarrassed - his face was redder than my pokéballs! He obviously was going to say something else, but I wasn't sure what. "Well, I don't really like hot food. Not even wasabi in sushi. "  
  
"Oh... Well, you still should try it... "  
  
We sat in silence for a while. Cael looked like he was arguing with himself, silently. I wasn't really paying attention - I really liked the taste of the tea! Even now, as I'm writing this all down, I'm sipping on a cup of it. It's beautiful stuff. But back to the story. The sushi and curry arrived, and we ate it in silence. The sushi wasn't as good as what Dad made at home, and I felt homesick for a moment. I pushed the thought out of my mind, and finished my sushi. Cael had long since finished the curry. "So, what are we doing tomorrow?" I asked.  
  
"I was thinking we could challenge Koga,"  
  
"Who's he?"  
  
"The gym leader."  
  
"Oh, yeah. What type of pokémon does he use?"  
  
"Sleep, Confusion, and Poison, "  
  
"Poison's the only TYPE there. "  
  
"I meant ones that could cause that effect, "  
  
"Oh, I see what you mean, " I said, feeling stupid. "I think I'll go to bed. Getting knocked out really takes a lot out of you. " "Okay," Cael said. "I'd better get to bed soon, but I've got a few things to take care of first. "  
  
"Mmm... " I said, realising how sleepy I was for the first time. I got up, went into our room, and changed into my pyjamas. I fell asleep before Cael even came into the room. 


End file.
